


Say Hey

by phoenixquest



Series: Modern mHanders AU [1]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-12
Updated: 2015-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-01 05:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5194640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixquest/pseuds/phoenixquest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hawke emerges from his bedroom, wanting a drink, not realizing his roommate Varric has brought friends over. Upon finding Varric in the kitchen with several people Hawke knows – and a handsome blond he hasn’t met yet – he realizes he’s wearing a silly t-shirt and cat boxers. In front of everyone. Commence humiliation. (Modern AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Say Hey

**Author's Note:**

> OK, so this came from a Tumblr post that I did not save in a re-findable way (I’m sorry!). Someone mentioned not knowing there were people over, going into a room dressed in only a t-shirt that said “say hey if you’re gay” and boxers. A reply asked if anyone said “hey”. Another reply said “imagine your otp”. And so I *did* imagine my otp. And the idea wouldn’t go away. Here’s the result – and some cute modern-day Handers fluff!

Hawke sighed as he walked down the stairs, wishing he could just magically summon things once in a while. He really didn’t feel like leaving his room, but he was also really thirsty; with no magical powers to aid him, he had no choice but to head for the kitchen himself.

Until a few days ago, Hawke had been the web developer for a local store chain. Now, though, the owner’s daughter had come back into town, wanting the job. Admittedly, she was decent at it…but it meant they no longer wanted Hawke’s services. The man was devastated; he had truly enjoyed his job, and hadn’t been keen to move on from it. Then there was the fact that he felt ashamed for having been let go, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. In such a down mood, however, logic didn’t matter much.

Varric, his roommate, had given up trying to make him feel better; the other man had gone out with some friends that night, and didn’t even try to push for Hawke to come. Hawke knew he needed to look for another job – could probably even get one relatively easily, as he was good at what he did – but right now he’d prefer to just wallow in his misery.

He trudged down the last few stairs, going toward the kitchen. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize that there were voices coming from the room.

It finally registered as soon as he walked in and several people stopped to stare at him.

Varric was there, along with Isabela and Merrill, and a couple other friends Hawke kind of knew. There was a new face, though; a handsome man with a blond ponytail and an earring.

“Nice outfit,” Isabela smirked, looking him up and down. Hawke glanced down at himself, realizing he wore only a t-shirt and boxers. His t-shirt read “SAY HEY IF YOU’RE GAY”…and his boxers had pictures of cats on them. He immediately reddened.

“Oooh, Hawke, are you going to join us after all?” Merrill asked hopefully, sweet as always.

“N-no,” he stammered, caught completely off-guard. He couldn’t stop glancing back at the handsome blond. “Just – wanted a drink – “

“Yeah, yeah, just keep being a recluse,” Varric snickered, waving him off. “This is Anders, by the way,” he added, motioning to the blond man. “Anders, Hawke.”

“ _Hey_ ,” Anders smirked, his eyes flicking back up from Hawke’s shirt. Hawke’s face burned; did the man mean that because of the shirt? No, of course he didn’t. Hawke looked like a fool, and surely the man was just mocking him. But that _smirk_ …

“I-I’ll just – er – go,” Hawke stammered, and bolted back out of the room. He felt like the biggest idiot in the world. He could’ve at least been wearing normal clothes if he’d known there’d be _people_ in his kitchen!

He got all the way back up to his room and shut the door before he realized he didn’t actually have the drink he’d gone down for. He groaned, flopping onto his bed, cursing Varric.

Maybe he could put something normal on and go back down, pretend it hadn’t happened?

 _Yeah, right_ , he thought bitterly. Not with Isabela there. She’d never let him forget it. He’d just have to die of thirst. And shame.

There was a knock on his door, startling him out of his wallowing. He groaned in the general direction of the door.

“Varric, go away,” he muttered. “And _tell me_ next time you have handsome strangers over.”

“Ah…it isn’t Varric,” a voice called back. Hawke stared at the door in horror. It _couldn’t_ be. “But thanks for the compliment.”

Oh, _hell_. What were the odds he could actually manage to disappear entirely if he covered himself with enough blankets?

“You don’t have to let me in,” the voice called, sounding slightly disappointed. “I just thought you might like the drink you came down for. I can leave it by the door.”

“No,” Hawke responded, surprising himself. But he couldn’t just let the man leave without even thanking him; he wasn’t _that_ rude. It was a very kind gesture from Anders, especially for someone he didn’t know - some stranger who walked around in bloody _cat boxers_. “Er…no. Hang on.” He managed to make himself get up off the bed and open the door.

Anders was standing there, a friendly smile on his face as he held out a can of Coke.

“Hi,” Anders said kindly.

“Hi,” Hawke replied, feeling incredibly awkward. He took the Coke. “Er…thanks. For this.”

“Sure,” Anders said, still smiling. Hawke had a hard time looking away from that lovely sight.

“You…want to get back down there?” Hawke finally asked, shaking himself and trying to focus on _not_ seeming crazier than he already did. “Not that I’m trying to get rid of you or anything, it’s just, um…” he trailed off, looking down in embarrassment. “I sound like an idiot.” Anders chuckled.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” he said, making Hawke look up at him in shock. He was clearly being sincere, though that was the _last_ thing Hawke expected. Perhaps Anders _had_ been flirting down in the kitchen. “I’ve had as much of Isabela as I can take for one night, actually. Mind if I stay up here with you for a bit?” Hawke stared at the man, stunned. He had no idea why this charming, handsome person would want to spend any more time with him, as much of a fool as he knew he looked.

“Of course not,” Hawke finally burst out. He certainly wasn’t inclined to tell the man to _leave_. “Er…come in.” He stood aside, motioning Anders in.

“Nice room,” Anders said, looking around. Hawke was sure he was being made fun of, but to his great surprise, Anders again seemed to be sincere. “I take it you like cats.”

“I do,” Hawke admitted, blushing again as he sat down on the bed, offering the desk chair to Anders. The blond sat down, still looking around the room. There were a few cat figurines and a couple posters with the animals as well. “All gifts from my sister, actually. I tend to prefer dogs, really.”

“Your sister must be great,” Anders grinned.

“I think so,” Hawke agreed, feeling slightly more comfortable now. Anders was easy to talk with, and he seemed to have a genuine interest in Hawke. “How do you know Varric?”

“I moved here about a month ago,” Anders laughed. “From what I hear, you don’t live in this town _without_ knowing Varric.”

“That’s true,” Hawke agreed with a laugh of his own. “What brought you here?”

“I ah…just wanted a fresh start, somewhere new, you know?” Anders replied, seeming awkward for the first time. “I opened up an animal shelter downtown,” he added quickly.

“Oh,” Hawke said, surprised. He didn’t want to push the topic if it was uncomfortable for Anders, so he let it drop. “That sounds nice. Hard work, I’m sure.”

“Definitely,” Anders nodded, relieved. “But it’s worth it. I love cats…and dogs too, really,” he smiled. “What do you do for a living, Hawke?” Hawke felt his insides squeeze.

“Uh…actually I just lost my job a few days ago,” he answered awkwardly, staring at the blanket on the bed.

“Oh,” Anders said. “I’m sorry.” Hawke risked a glance up at him; the same sincerity as before was showing in his eyes. “What happened?”

“Nepotism,” Hawke shrugged, trying to sound casual about it. “I’m a web developer, and I worked for a store chain. The owner’s daughter came back to town, though, so…out I went.”

“That’s awful,” Anders frowned. “Seems unfair.”

“Eh,” Hawke said. “It is, a bit.” He didn’t really want to burden this stranger with his feelings on the subject. “I just have to start looking for another job, I suppose.”

“Well,” Anders ventured, looking thoughtfully at the man, “I don’t know if it would interest you, but I _had_ been thinking of trying to make a website for the shelter. You know, to advertise, show off some of the animals. I don’t really know what I’m doing, and I’m sure yours would look better,” he added with a laugh.

“Oh,” Hawke said in surprise. “I…uh…” He trailed off, feeling self-conscious. “You don’t need to do that to be nice,” he finally managed.

“No,” Anders assured him with another kind smile. “I mean it; I really had been wanting a site for the shelter. And I really _don’t_ know what I’m doing; I just didn’t expect to run into a web designer…who likes animals enough to wear cat boxers,” he smirked, teasing. Hawke laughed; he was still a little embarrassed to have met Anders in such a way, but it was so obvious that the man didn’t think him crazy that he didn’t really mind the teasing. And that grin of his…well, Hawke would definitely put up with teasing if it meant he could see more of _that_.

“I’m sure I could come up with something,” Hawke finally nodded. “What sort of a budget were you looking at?” 

Anders’ face lit up at Hawke’s willingness to go for the idea, and the two started talking in-depth about the design. Hawke did some quick mock-ups on his computer as they discussed it, showing Anders some of the things they could do. The blond man seemed rather more impressed than Hawke expected, though he did confess he was inept with technology. Anders joined Hawke on the bed before long, wanting to have a better view of what Hawke was showing him. Hawke was trying to act normally; he hadn’t been with anyone in a long time, and he was acutely aware that he was still in his boxers with a very handsome man on his bed. He did manage to focus, though. Mostly.

It was quite some time later when Hawke looked at the clock and let out a gasp of surprise.

“Damn, I’m sorry!” Hawke said, shaking his head. “It’s after two in the morning.”

“Is it really?” Anders asked, equally surprised. “I feel like I just got here,” he added with a short laugh, standing up and stretching. 

“I’m sorry,” Hawke apologized again. “I didn’t realize. I never would’ve kept you so long – “

“You weren’t _keeping_ me here,” Anders chuckled. “I rather enjoyed this, Hawke.” Hawke blushed.

“I ah…did, too,” Hawke confessed. Anders grinned.

“So, can I get your number?”

“What?” Hawke spluttered, shocked. Though he had to admit that he wasn’t at all opposed to getting to know the handsome blond better.

“If you’re going to design my website, I probably need to be able to contact you,” Anders smirked. Hawke wanted to smack himself in the forehead. He sounded like such an idiot, assuming things.

“Right,” he said hurriedly. “Yes. Of course. I – sorry.”

“You don’t need to keep apologizing,” Anders said, no longer teasing but genuinely kind. “Relax.” He interrupted himself with a yawn.

“You should probably get going,” Hawke said, his voice faintly regretful.

“Yeah,” Anders replied, frowning for the first time. He sounded as regretful as Hawke felt. “Well, I’d love to talk about this more,” he added. “Maybe you ought to come see the shelter? Know what you’re designing for?”

“Sure!” Hawke said, so eagerly he wanted to physically cringe back in embarrassment. “I – that’d be great.”

“Then I’ll call you about it,” Anders told him. “If you give me your number.” Hawke laughed, still just a little red in the face. He put his number into Anders’ phone, then put Anders’ number into his own.

“I think everyone else left,” Hawke said quietly as they stepped out into the hall. “Oh, Isabela’s going to be insufferable next time I see her.”

“Tell me about it,” Anders snorted, but grinned. “Think we should make up something ridiculous to tell her?”

“Like what?” Hawke laughed.

“I’m secretly a spy, and you were my contact?” Anders suggested.

“Are you implying that I’m a Bond girl?” Hawke chuckled. Anders smirked.

“Well, I won’t say no to _that_ plot,” Anders replied, looking Hawke up and down. Hawke’s face burned, though he felt quite pleased at the man’s interest.

He walked Anders to the door, waving goodbye as he locked it behind him. He stood there for several minutes, leaning against the door, half of him wanting to run after Anders and the other half wanting to sink into the floor and disappear forever.

He’d made such an _idiot_ of himself! And yet…that didn’t seem to have deterred Anders at all. Maybe he was just a flirt? Maybe he acted that way with everyone. That had to be it. No way would he go out of his way to flirt with some fool of a man wandering around in boxers with cats on them in front of strangers.

But…he _had_ come up to Hawke’s room, hadn’t he? To bring him a drink? And wanted to stay? Surely that was farther than anyone would go just to be a flirt. Hawke groaned softly and clutched at his head. He was going to drive himself mad, trying to think this over. He’d just have to wait and try to be less foolish next time they met. For the website. Make a better impression. He could do that, right? Perhaps losing his job wasn’t a _completely_ terrible thing.

He’d just gotten back to his room when his phone beeped, alerting him to a message. Wondering who could possibly be wanting to talk to him at this hour, he picked up the phone and flicked open the message.

_Just making sure it works. Had a good night, looking forward to next time. –Anders_

Hawke couldn’t keep himself from blushing furiously, even as a grin split his face in two. He could hardly wait.


End file.
